I ordered my laptop from PCSpecialists in the end (several folks at work are happy and the reviews looked good). I wound up going as high end as possible, 16 gigs RAM, 240 gig SSD, etc. I could even order a machine without an OS on it and save around £80 .

Anyway, thanks for the suggestions, especially about the SSD. If I am right, I will have to put /tmp and /var/tmp/portage into ram via tmpfs. However, what amount of space should that get (I am thinking 8 GB, though am not sure if that's overkill). The other thing to do is set TRIM.

Quick question. Is it possible to set up linux initially with /tmp and /var/tmp/portage in tmpfs?

Here is a howto for portage in tmpfs. You can configure portage to compile some big packages ondisc. For most programms 4 GB /var/tmp/portage is enough (except Libreoffice, Firefox, Icedtea in my case). For /tmp/ I use 1.5 GB tmpfs but I think 0.5 to 1 GB should be enough in most cases. This decision is not that important, you can simply increase the fstab value and remount._________________# cd /pub/
# more beer

anything over $400 is an overkill for a laptop. Above that you're better off with a nice multimonitor workstation. No need to get latest cutting edge tech since most it's marketing spin. Usually previous season laptops are plenty of good, for a 'laptop use', and likely more mature linux support.

Depends how often you need to travel with your terminal. I travel to/from work with my laptop every day, and often travel weeks at a time. My Thinkpad X301 has been worth every penny._________________Personal overlay | Simple backup scheme

Just an update. I purchased the laptop and didn't like what I saw, so sent it back. I lost £36.00 in the process. There is just something about laptops that, personally, I don't like.

So... I'm now looking for a desktop. Unfortunately, none of the options out there are right for what I need. That is to say, something powerful enough for my work but not loaded up with so many gimmicks as to boost the price to beyond what I am willing to pay. Dell, who were great when I bought my present PC some 10 years ago, suck. There's just not enough of an ability to customize things and the service representatives are constantly trying to ram some higher end machine down my throat. No thanks. I've thought about custom build PCs, but I am clueless with most options (cooling, etc.), don't have time to learn, and the return policies are overly draconian.

Thoughtful suggestions would be welcomed. My main desire is for something that has an i7 and 16gb of ram, preferably under £800 in price.

I build my own PC a few month ago and it's really not that hard. All you need to do is to select a main-board, than look what cpu's are supported, select one, then look what RAM is supported etc. I think after a few hours searching you can order your hardware and when it's at your home you need maybe 1-2 hours to build the PC.

I have 16GB RAM, AMD bulldozer FX-4170 (as an AMD-fan I don't recommend the bulldozer series, although AMD is still better in the prize/performance ratio afaik) and paid something around 800 euros. But I think if you want an i7 you will have to pay more than 800 euros, but I don't know.

I was a bit unsure like you, because I thought about cooling, etc too, but it's really not hard, unless you want to do that. anyone out there with such a setup? I definitely will try this some day

PS: why do you don't like laptops?
I love them, although a desktop is "better" in the sense of price/performance ratio.

@_______0
I disagree, because you can do everything with a laptop except heavy gaming or heavy calculations, which most "normal" people don't need to do._________________"I want to see gamma rays! I want to hear X-rays! Do you see the absurdity of what I am? I can't even express these things properly because I have to conceptualize complex ideas in this stupid limiting spoken language!"

I build my own PC a few month ago and it's really not that hard. All you need to do is to select a main-board, than look what cpu's are supported, select one, then look what RAM is supported etc. I think after a few hours searching you can order your hardware and when it's at your home you need maybe 1-2 hours to build the PC.

I have 16GB RAM, AMD bulldozer FX-4170 (as an AMD-fan I don't recommend the bulldozer series, although AMD is still better in the prize/performance ratio afaik) and paid something around 800 euros. But I think if you want an i7 you will have to pay more than 800 euros, but I don't know.

Thanks for the encouragement, though the way my life is, that time just isn't available. Moreover, knowing my lack of hardware-related abilities, I would screw something up massively. I also have no basis on which to evaluate how good or bad various things like cases, etc. are.

Quote:

PS: why do you don't like laptops?
I love them, although a desktop is "better" in the sense of price/performance ratio.

@_______0
I disagree, because you can do everything with a laptop except heavy gaming or heavy calculations, which most "normal" people don't need to do.

I don't like depending on batteries, I like to sit at a desk and have my screen at eye level, and my needs are for heavy calculations. I also don't need much beyond web/ssh access when I travel, so spending X amount extra just for a laptop that has less power than I'd like is, to me, a waste.